Of all places, I had this on tap at the Apothecary Alehouse in Morgantown the other day (SN brought in a couple of kegs apparently, for a SN and DFH promotion event).

The beer pours a blackish brown color with good head retention and lacing. The nose is very attractive and impressive in this beer, as I get some skunky week, dark chocolate, licorise and dry citrus. The flavor profile replicates the nose pretty closely in this beer, and there was some nice roasty bitterness in the finish that seemed to compliment the dark chocolate and licorise flavors. Mouthfeel was medium bodied at most, and the beer was just a tad on the thin side. However, I thought that went well with the style, and as it turns out, drinkability was quite good (went for a second pint in fact).

Very glad I got to try this one. I missed the promotion on Tuesday (was at AA on a Friday), but fortunately the Alehouse got a second keg (Grace, the co-owner, noted that the first keg kicked very quickly, and that they were already almost out of the second keg), so was not sure I'd get the chance.

32oz growler. Pours black with a couple fingers of rich and foamy mocha head. This stays robust and frothy, slathering the sides of the glass with sticky lacing. The aroma smells floral, piney and a little dank, with fresh citrus flavors and a touch of leafy spice. An underlying mix of roast, chocolate and caramel all rise up, mixing in with the hop flavors to give the nose a rich smoky twang. The taste has a crisp green bitterness to that spreads leafy citrus and pine out across the tongue, leaving this bitter, spicy and resinous on the finish. A sticky and burnt mix of roast, chocolate and caramel malts stays on the sides of the profile, doing a good job of balancing the hops and even leaving a little char behind as well in the backend. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with a silky smooth creaminess that also harbors a bit of crispness down the center of it where those hops lay. Alcohol is well hid. I love when these Beer Camp efforts randomly show up in our area and this was a nice one, being a Black IPA of rich depth (there is a clear separation here between malt and hops yet they still balance and complement each other nicely) and a super easy drinkability for a bigger IPA. I maybe have to go back for another growler of this…

Had this on 2013-03-15 in Lancaster, PA at The Fridge (from tasting notes)

A - Opaque brown-black with a 1-finger tan head that really sticks around and yields good lacing.

S - Brown bread, some chocolate, light citrus and hop floral.

T - Much like the smell but with more chocolate, roasted grain, light char and citrus zest bitterness with a good, lingering pine-bitterness with a dash of roasty malt sweetness for balance. It's a porter-like IPA flavor-wise.

M - Medium body and light-medium carbonation. Creamy at first but it dries.

O - One of the better black IPAs I've had. I'm typically not a big fan of this style but on this day, it hit the spot and I ordered a second glass.

LOOK: Pours an opaque dark brown, with an off white head. After each sip the glass gets coated in lace.

SMELL: Dark roast coffee, cocoa powder, and just a touch of flowery hops make up a pretty solid aroma.

TASTE: Roasted malts and piney/citrusy hops upfront. Strong bitterness, but balanced nicely with malts giving off a chocolate flavor. Reminds me of a hopped up porter. Fits nicely into the American Black Ale bracket, but also is a passable American porter with all of the roasted, coffee like flavors.

FEEL: Medium to full bodied, smooth and medium carbonation level.

OVERALL: A tasty dark American beer with lots of hops. The flavors are well integrated, this is a good beer.